Last updated Oct 31, 2026 (ET)
This tracker counts major street protests across Europe since Aug. 2, 2026, with the numbers that police, interior ministries, organisers and independent counters put out. It lists 25 protests in 12 countries. Every figure links to its source. Where the official and organiser counts differ, both are shown side by side.
Europe protests by the numbers
12
countries with major protests in 90 days (11 in the last 30 days)
550,000
largest official one-day count: France, Oct. 17 (organisers: 800,000)
5,413+
arrests reported in the table; 85% of them in France
1
death reported (France, Oct. 17; cause under investigation)
Calculations: The Boston Report, from the table below. The arrest total adds only events with an official arrest count and leaves out detentions and ID checks, so the real figure is higher.
Jump to: Protest table · Charts · Country notes · Method and limits · Sources
What the numbers show
- France is the biggest by far. The Interior Ministry counted 550,000 marchers on Oct. 17 and 410,000 on Oct. 24. Its count for Oct. 31 was 320,000, down 42% from Oct. 17. Organisers put the same three days at 800,000, 800,000 and about 500,000. France also accounts for 4,628 of the 5,413 arrests in the table. More detail is on our France protest tracker.
- Youth and school protests spread. Eleven of the 25 protests were mainly about schools or living costs. They include marches in Milan, Brussels, Liège and Barcelona and the Oct. 31 “GenZ regelt!” protests in more than 30 German cities. Organisers of the German protests put turnout at 120,000. We covered the spread in Europe protests spread to Milan, Lisbon and Brussels.
- Arrest counts outside France are smaller but steep for the crowd size. Tirana police reported more than 270 arrests in 13 days. London police reported 139 at one Palestine Action protest on Oct. 31, and Barcelona reported 128 after one night of rioting on Oct. 24.
- Politics drove the big counts in the Balkans and Poland. The Archive of Public Gatherings counted about 150,000 at the Student List rally in Belgrade on Oct. 22. In Warsaw, a standoff at the Constitutional Tribunal led to five detentions on Oct. 30 and 31. See our Poland tribunal standoff live updates and Serbia election results.
European protest tracker table
Newest first. Official means the police or a government. “Independent / media” covers independent counters such as Serbia’s Archive of Public Gatherings and estimates given by news agencies. A dash means no figure was published. Swipe sideways on mobile.
| Country / city | Dates | Cause | Turnout: official / police | Turnout: organisers | Turnout: independent / media | Arrests | Injuries / deaths | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France Nationwide (Paris 70,000) |
Oct. 31 | Third Saturday of marches, backed by Yellow Vest groups and youth unions Education and cost of living |
320,000 Interior Ministry |
500,000 | — | 565 Provisional, 9 p.m. Paris time; 40,000 checks |
Not yet published | Ongoing | franceinfo; franceinfo live |
| Italy Rome |
Oct. 31 | Unannounced marches; clashes near the Colosseum Education and cost of living |
— | — | Not reported | — 8 detained Police: 8 detained, 369 identified, 7 referred to prosecutors |
— | Recurring | ANSA |
| Germany 30+ cities (Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg) |
Oct. 31 | "GenZ regelt!" youth protests over living costs, schools and military service Education and cost of living |
— | 120,000 | Cologne: "several thousand" (police) | 1 Cologne only: 1 arrest; about 700 held in a police cordon |
Several officers (AFP); 1 in Cologne | Ended | AFP; tagesschau; Cologne Police |
| United Kingdom London (U.S. Embassy) |
Oct. 31 | Protest against the ban on Palestine Action War and foreign policy |
— | — | Hundreds (Al Jazeera) | 139 Metropolitan Police; more arrests possible |
— | Ended | AP; The Guardian |
| Poland Warsaw (Constitutional Tribunal) |
Oct. 30–31 | Protest and police standoff after the tribunal president's suspension Courts and rule of law |
— | — | No estimate published | 5 Warsaw police: 4 on Oct. 30, 1 on Oct. 31 |
Protest organiser struck (police) | Ongoing | AP; Warsaw Police |
| Spain Madrid (Puerta del Sol) |
Early Oct.–Oct. 31 | Housing protest camp; courts refused urgent eviction; camp began dissolving Oct. 31 Housing |
— | — | Hundreds (The Guardian) | — None reported |
— | Ending | El País; ABC |
| Spain Madrid (Transport Ministry) |
Oct. 28 | Far-right rally after the Urda train crash, demanding resignations Anti-government and corruption |
— | — | 1,000 EFE ("more than 1,000") |
— No official count published |
— | Ended | EFE Unverified claim, EFE (Spanish state-owned news agency (majority-owned by SEPI)) |
| Albania Tirana |
Oct. 13–26 | Student-led protests over education and corruption, demanding PM Edi Rama resign Anti-government and corruption |
— | — | Thousands (Euronews, Oct. 24) | 270 State Police after 13 days, Oct. 26: 270+ arrested, 344 prosecuted |
295 injured incl. 186 police (official, to Oct. 19) | Ongoing | BBC News; Reporteri (State Police figures); Al Jazeera |
| Georgia Tbilisi |
Oct. 25 | "Georgia without Ivanishvili" march against a bid to ban opposition parties; daily protests reached day 703 on Oct. 31 Anti-government and corruption |
— | — | 2,000 OBC Transeuropa ("approximately two thousand") |
— None reported |
— | Ongoing | Civil Georgia; OBC Transeuropa; Caucasian Knot |
| Portugal Lisbon and Porto |
Oct. 24–25 | "We have no home, we pitch tents" housing marches and tent camps Housing |
600 PSP (Porto march at departure) |
— | Thousands in Lisbon (Lusa) | — About 10 people seen handcuffed in Rossio (DN reporters); no official total |
37 light injuries in Porto (organisers) | Recurring | Diário de Notícias / Lusa |
| France Nationwide (289 marches; Paris 110,000) |
Oct. 24 | Second national day of protest, under a 70,000-officer deployment Education and cost of living |
410,000 Interior Ministry |
800,000 | — | 1,435 Nuñez, Oct. 26 (first count Oct. 25: 1,314) |
267 police and gendarmes; 150 protesters (3 serious) | Ongoing | Interior Ministry; franceinfo |
| Italy Eight cities incl. Rome, Milan, Turin |
Oct. 24 | Marches against rearmament, war and living costs War and foreign policy |
— | — | Thousands | 9 371 detained Police: 9 arrests, 371 briefly detained (110 minors) |
— | Recurring | Euronews |
| Spain Barcelona |
Oct. 24 | Unauthorised youth gathering called on social media turned into rioting Education and cost of living |
— | — | Not reported | 128 City Police and Mossos: 56% minors |
14 police officers | Ended | Barcelona City Council |
| Serbia Belgrade (Slavija Square) |
Oct. 22 | Student List final campaign rally before the Oct. 25 election Anti-government and corruption |
— | — | 150,000 Archive of Public Gatherings |
— None reported |
— | Ended | Danas; AFP |
| Poland 20+ cities |
Oct. 22 | Abortion-rights protests after the Sejm passed two bills facing a likely veto Women's and civil rights |
— | — | Not reported | — None reported |
— | Ended | Euronews |
| France Nationwide (110 marches) |
Oct. 17–18 | National day of protest over living costs; looting and arson followed Education and cost of living |
550,000 Interior Ministry |
800,000 | — | 2,628 Updated ministry count, Oct. 25 (first counts: 1,200 to 2,397) |
1,144 police and gendarmes 1 death: A protester collapsed in Paris; the police prefecture cited cardiorespiratory arrest |
Ongoing | franceinfo (AFP); France 24 (AFP) |
| Italy Milan (also Turin, Bologna) |
Oct. 17–18 | Marches against living costs and war; clashes and looting in Milan Education and cost of living |
— | — | 5,000 BBC ("more than 5,000" in Milan) |
32 250 detained Police: 250+ taken to stations, 80% minors; 32 arrested Oct. 18 |
Police officers injured (number not given) | Recurring | BBC News |
| Belgium Brussels |
Oct. 17 | March against cuts in French-language education and higher university fees Education and cost of living |
— | — | Not reported | 150 Brussels police: 118 administrative, 32 judicial (15 minors) |
5 police officers (light) | Recurring | RTBF (Belga) |
| Belgium Liège |
Oct. 17 | Student protest over education cuts and fees Education and cost of living |
250 Police (gathering at start) |
— | — | 45 Liège police: 45 (12 minors) |
— | Recurring | RTBF (Belga) |
| Poland Warsaw (Constitutional Tribunal) |
Oct. 17 | PiS rally in defence of the Constitutional Tribunal Courts and rule of law |
4,000 Police |
— | Organisers: "tens of thousands" | — None reported |
— | Ended | Życie Stolicy |
| France Nationwide (Paris 41,500) |
Oct. 13 | "Act V" of the high school movement over school staffing and conditions Education and cost of living |
161,500 Interior Ministry |
480,000 | — | — No national total published |
— | Ongoing | TF1 Info; France 24 |
| Spain Madrid |
Sept. 26 | "March for Dignity" over the Ceuta migrant crisis, backed by PP and Vox Migration and the far right |
20,000 Government |
180,000 | — | — None reported |
— | Ended | Al Jazeera (AFP) |
| Serbia Belgrade |
Sept. 14 | Student List march to the election commission Anti-government and corruption |
— | — | 8,700 Archive of Public Gatherings |
— None reported |
— | Ended | N1 |
| Germany About 20 cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich) |
Sept. 12 | Rallies calling for a ban on the AfD after its Saxony-Anhalt election win Migration and the far right |
— | — | 150,000 Al Jazeera/AFP ("about 150,000") |
— None reported |
— | Ended | Al Jazeera (AFP) |
| Greece Thessaloniki |
Sept. 5 | Cost-of-living march during the PM's Thessaloniki International Fair speech Education and cost of living |
25,000 Police ("more than 25,000") |
— | — | 6 9 taken in, 6 arrested |
— | Ended | AP; CNN Greece |
Download the data: the table and chart data are saved as CSV files with this tracker’s build files. Status “Ongoing” means protests were still being held or called as of Oct. 31.
Charts
Country notes
France. The four national days drew 161,500, 550,000, 410,000 and 320,000 marchers by the Interior Ministry’s count. On Oct. 31, about 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed and 40,000 checks were made. The prefectures counted 19,000 in Lyon and 13,500 in Rennes, where unions claimed more than 20,000.
Albania. Officials reported 295 people hurt before Oct. 19, 186 of them police (BBC). After 13 days, State Police said more than 270 people had been arrested and 344 prosecuted.
Spain. The two largest Madrid protests were on the right. On Sept. 26, the government counted 20,000 at the Ceuta “March for Dignity”, while organisers claimed 180,000. On Oct. 28, a far-right rally after the train crash drew more than 1,000, according to EFE Unverified claim, EFE (Spanish state-owned news agency (majority-owned by SEPI)). More in our report on the Madrid protest.
Georgia. Daily protests in Tbilisi reached day 703 on Oct. 31, according to Caucasian Knot. The Oct. 25 march drew about 2,000, according to OBC Transeuropa.
Germany. In Cologne, police said “several thousand” joined the Oct. 31 youth protest, fewer than the 15,000 registered. About 700 people were held in a police cordon and one person was arrested.
Method and limits
- What counts. We include street protests in Europe since Aug. 2, 2026, that drew at least several hundred people, led to arrests or injuries, or were part of a national day of action, and that a news outlet or authority reported with at least one figure. This is not a complete census. Turkey and smaller daily protests are not yet included.
- Turnout. Official, organiser and independent counts are kept apart and never averaged. Counts by organisers are usually much higher than official ones. The chart uses the official count when there is one, then an independent or news-agency estimate. Partial counts, such as crowd size at the start of a march, are left out of the chart.
- Arrests. “Arrests” is the number an authority reported. Detentions, people taken in for ID checks and people identified are listed separately and not added to the total. Countries define arrest differently, so compare them with care.
- Dates and revisions. Same-day figures, including France’s Oct. 31 count, are provisional and often rise later. When a figure is revised, we use the latest official one and note it.
- Classification. Each protest is given one main issue, chosen by The Boston Report. Many protests have several causes.
- State media. Outlets owned or controlled by a state are flagged. Where possible we cite police or ministry statements directly.
Sources
- French Interior Ministry, Oct. 24 national protest figures
- franceinfo, Oct. 31 summary, Oct. 17 figures and Oct. 24 injuries
- TF1 Info, Oct. 13 figures; France 24, updated arrests, Oct. 25
- BBC News on Milan and Tirana; ANSA on Rome, Oct. 31; Euronews on Oct. 24 protests across Europe
- RTBF/Belga, Brussels and Liège police figures; Barcelona City Council, 128 arrests
- Diário de Notícias/Lusa, Lisbon and Porto camps
- AFP, German Gen Z protests and Belgrade rally; Cologne Police, Oct. 31 statement
- AP on London arrests, Warsaw and Thessaloniki
- Al Jazeera on Madrid, Sept. 26, Germany, Sept. 12 and Tirana
- Danas and N1 (Archive of Public Gatherings counts); Życie Stolicy (Warsaw police count); Civil Georgia and OBC Transeuropa (Tbilisi)
Additional sources
- Carnegie Endowment, Global Protest Tracker, for longer-term context. Its figures are not used in the table.
- Euronews, abortion-rights protests in Poland; El País and ABC on the Puerta del Sol camp; The Guardian on the London embassy protest.
- The Boston Report: Serbia election 2026.
Featured image: Photo: Grunpfnul, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (original), cropped.